Wednesday, December 14, 2005

French Toast

Last week while helping out at school I overheard this conversation between two middle school boys in the hallway: "Dude, you won't believe what I have in my lunch today -- french toast!" "Aw, man!" French toast, huh? I can do that! I used the fronch toast recipe from my new favorite cookbook, Vegan With A Vengeance, and packed it with a tiny container of maple syrup, some hash browns, a clementine mandarin, and a thermos of hot soy cocoa. Verdict: What's not to love? Every bit got eaten up, even the crusts! 5 stars.

Well, it's not really cold by the time he eats it. I wrap the containers in foil, then shut the lid and place the lunch box inside an insulated case. It's not piping, but it's warm. In any case, it was a big hit with him. :-)

Me too. I love, love, love Vegan with a Vengence. The waffles are awesome (pumpkin are my favorite), the seitan was good, the cookies, all of it. Sorry to hijak I just got a little excited. Anyway, been enjoying your blog - it's fun to see how exciting a vegan lunch can be!

I just got my VwaV book yesterday and had a good browse this morning. We do our big monthly shop this weekend and you can bet a ton of stuff from the book will be on my list to make!

I'm going to start branching out on lunches for my little one too as I'm bored with giving him the same stuff all the time so I will be spending some time looking for inspiration through your archives!

As always, yum! I haven't made the fronch toast yet, but I've always loved the french toast recipe from Vegan Vittles. Vegan with a Vengeance is my new favorite, too. I was supposed to go see her (Isa) make waffles at mooshoes last week but I had a really bad day at work that day and missed getting to meet her!

Thanks for the cookbook suggestion of Vegan with a Vengeance. I just looked this up on Amazon.com, and I hope to purchase it very soon. As someone who's been vegan for around 14-15 years, I don't often use cookbooks, but the reviews on this one look wonderful!

Vegan With a Vengeance has been my best cookbook purchase this year. We eat at least 2 meals a week from it. Last night I modified the breakfast sausage patties into baked mini "meat" loaves topped with a ketchup/brown sugar glaze. Awesome. While Isa and co. may be too angst-ridden for me, the recipes are very good. I hope I can soon add the softer, gentler, "schmooier" veganism of Vegan Lunch Box to my cookbook shelf.

I don't have that cookbook but I made a mean french toast. I use the recipe from Gourmet Vegan as a base, and then add some almond butter when blending up the batter. It makes it thicker, crispier, and adds protein and a nice flavor.

I had not thought of making some to take in my laptop lunchbox. Good idea!

Ah, yes! There is a SECRET to non-sticky hashbrowns, which I do reveal in the "Vegan Lunch Box" cookbook! Hint: it involves salting the potato shreds, letting them rest a bit, then squeezing the dickens out of them. This removes the potato starch that makes them turn into sticky goo.

I like the hashbrowns made into tiny individual rounds, too, as in this lunch box:

The waffles are awesome (pumpkin are my favorite), the seitan was good, the cookies, all of it. Sorry to hijak I just got a little excited. Anyway, been enjoying your blog - it's fun to see how exciting a vegan lunch can be!